I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to techniques for initializing and conducting transmissions to multiple devices in a wireless communication system.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems, such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems, are widely deployed to provide various communication services; for instance, voice, video, packet data, broadcast, and messaging services may be provided via such wireless communication systems. These systems may be multiple-access systems that are capable of supporting communication for multiple terminals by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.
Devices in a WLAN system can access channels for communication using a variety of channel access modes. These include controlled channel access modes, such as Hybrid Coordination Function (HCF) Controlled Channel Access (HCCA), and contention-based channel access modes, such as Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA). By accessing a channel, a device can establish a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for communicating with other devices using the channel. Network efficiency can be improved by allowing transmissions to multiple devices in a single TXOP established by a device. However, methods of reliable transmissions to multiple devices in a single TXOP are not provided in many wireless communication systems. Thus, there exists a need for efficient techniques for conducting transmissions to multiple devices in a wireless communication system.